37 pages 1 hour read

Maria Edgeworth

Castle Rackrent

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1800

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“History of Sir Conolly Rackrent”Chapter Summaries & Analyses

“History of Sir Conolly Rackrent” Summary

Sir Condy Rackrent, heir to Castle Rackrent, was born to little fortune of his own and trained in law. Thady thinks that if Condy had borne the drudgery of study, he could have made King’s Council. Jason was a favorite with Sir Condy, as was Thady, who used to tell him stories of “the family and the blood from which he was sprung,” and that he would inherit it if the present man died without children (39). Thady finds that when Condy comes back from Dublin, he seems like the same man and just as beloved by Thady.

In his first year of inheriting the estate, Sir Condy cannot earn a penny and is obligated to pass new bonds. Jason, by now an established agent, “explained matters out of face to Sir Conolly,” and with a great nominal rent roll it is all paid away in interest (41). Jason then wants to be paid for his years of free service to the family. Condy gives him a “bargain of some acres which fell out of lease at a reasonable rent” (41). Jason meanwhile, rents the land to under-tenants and earns £200 a year. However, Condy gives the hunting lodge on the Rackrent estate that Jason has his eye on to Captain Moneygawl of Mount Juliet town.